Towel cabinet



M. STEINER ET A TOWEL CABINE Filed Sept. 17, 1921 fnvenz flank MJze-iner;

A may w a iii Patented July 19, 1927.

UNITED STATES 1,636,155 PATENT. OFFICE.

FRANK M. STEINER AND GOTTFRID OLSON, OF MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, ASSIGNORS, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO STEINER SALES COMPANY, OF SALT LAKE CITY,

UTAH, A CORPORATION OF UTAH.

TOWEL CABINET.

Application filed September 17, 1921. Serial No. 501,291.

The object of our invention is to provide a cabinet in which provision is made for measuring the length of clean toweling delivered to each user, the feeding arrangement of the mechanism being positively stopped when the user has pulled out the clean toweling toa predetermined point.

A further and particular object is to provide a towel cabinet of simple, inexpensive construction, which can be readily installed in an oflice building, store or factory and being composed of comparatively few parts, can not easily become damaged or get out of order. 1

The invention consists generally in various constructions and combinations, all as hereinafter described and particularly pointed out in the claim.

In the accompanying drawings forming part of this specification,

Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view through a towel cabinet embodying cur invention,

Figure 2 is a detail View of the upper portion of the cabinet, showing the position assumed by the parts when a length of clean toweling has been delivered,

Figure 3 is a sectional view on the line 3-3 of Figure 2.

In the drawing, 2 represents a cabinet of suitable material,preferably metal, having supporting legs 3 and provided with a chan ber i in which. the roll of clean toweling 5 is placed. The rear wall of this chamber has an opening 6 through which the strip of clean toweling extends upwardly in the rear ofa wall 7 which forms the back of the cabinet. In the top of the cabinet is a roll 8 over which the clean toweling passes, said roll being mounted on a shaft 9 which has bearings at its ends in the side walls 10 of the cabinet. A recess 11is provided in one end of the roll and a coiled spring 12 is attached at one end to the roll within said recess and at its-other end is connected to the end wall of the cabinet. Normally, the tension of this spring holds the roll in the position shown in Figure 1 of the drawing, with the roll stop 13 below the stop 14; that is mounted on the rear of the frame 15 in which a suitable mirror 16 is preferably mounted. The strip of clean toweling extends over the roll 8 between the stops 13 and 1 1 and depends into a chamber 17 that is formed by the rear wall 7, the side wall 10 and the front wall 18 of the cabinet. This front wall is preferably lower than the wall 7 to provide an opening through which the user may reach the clean towel, and as fast as the web of toweling is used, it falls upon the floor 19 in the bottom of the chamber 17, as indicated in Figure 1. When the user grasps the web of clean toweling and pulls downwardly on it, in the direction of the arrow, the roll 8 will be revolved and continue its revolution until the stop 13 is checked by the stop 14. During this operation a sufiicient length of clean toweling will be delivered for wiping purposes, while the soiled towel will drop into the bottom of the chamber. As soon as the user releases his grasp on the towel, the tension of the spring 12 will revolve the roll 8 from the position shown in Figure 2 to that illustrated in Figure 1. The cabinet will then be again ready for use.

Rotation of the roll 8 will be checked when the stop 13 contacts with the stop 14, as shown in Figure 2, and when the user releases the depending web of the towel, it will lie sufficiently loose on the roll to allow the spring 12 to return the roll to the position shown in Figure 1, without also returning the towel to the back of the cabinet. This we have demonstrated in the actual operation of the cabinet.

Beneath and near the roll 8 we prefer to provide a bar 8*, and make a bend in the clean toweling and pass the web in front of this bar, the purpose being to draw-the towel against the roll 8 and create suliicient friction so that the roll will be turned when a pull is applied to the towel. This bar also dispenses with any tension means in the lower portion of the cabinet and serves to keep the web of towel taut in the back of the cabinet, as shown in Figure 1, instead of allowing it to drop down in folds or loops, as it might do when the tension device is atthe bottom.

We claim as our invention:

A towel cabinet comprising a casing having a chamber in its lower portion adapted to receive a supply of clean towel and a rear opening through which the web of clean towel is stretched upwardly, a roll in the upper part of the cabinet over which the clean web is passed forwardly to the user,

said roll having a roughened surface for frictional contact with the web, to be revolved when the loose depending web end is pulled by the user, the front of the casing having an opening and the ioose depending web end being positioned by said roll close to said opening to be conveniently grasped by the user, said qveb contacting with a greater portion of the peripheral surface of said roll to insure its movement, a. stop mounted on said roll, a second fixed stop mounted on the cabinet in front of said roll in the path of said first mounted stop between which stops the web of towel is gripped and for limiting the rotation of said roil and the feed of the towel when the user pulls on the clean towel, the stop on said roll moving from a point adjacent said second stop on one side thereof to an adjacent point on the other side in the rotation of said roll, and means for auton'iatically returning said roll to its normal position with both stops in a towel gripping position when the pull on the towel is released.

In witness whereof, we have hereunto set 1;,

our hands this 14th day of September, 1921.

FRANK ML. STEIN ER.

GOTTFRID OLSON. 

